O'Shea Jackson Jr. will now play the lead role in Apple TV+ show 'Swagger

O'Shea Jackson (Image credit: Getty)

What you need to know

Apple TV+ show "Swagger" has a new lead.
O'Shea Jackson Jr. takes over from Winston Duke.
The "Black Panther" star was injured on set.

Apple TV+ show "Swagger" has a new lead, with O'Shea Jackson Jr. taking over from Winston Duke. Duke was announced as the lead in late 2019 but he has now stepped aside after suffering an injury on set.

He is being replaced by O'Shea Jackson Jr. according to a new Variety report in what will be the actor's first recurring TV show role.

"Swagger" is inspired by the life of basketball star Kevin Durrant and explores the world of youth basketball. Jackson is keen to get started, saying that he's "thrilled to be involved with such a profound and impactful project".

"I'm thrilled to be involved with such a profound and impactful project that stands for family, explores the development and growth of today's youth, involves the game of basketball, and most importantly addresses such key social issues which are tackled throughout the series," said Jackson. "Swagger' is an opportunity to explore a fresh, multi-dimensional character under the guidance of an amazing director like Reggie Rock and his team on a daily basis."

No timeframe is available for when "Swagger" will be available to stream on Apple TV+, but it's already one that will be on many radars, despite the loss of the "Black Panther" actor.

Apple TV+ is available for a $4.99 per month subscription fee with content watchable on iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod touch, and Apple TV devices.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.